Retention Guidelines for Nominal Records on the Police National Computer
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Retention Guidelines for Nominal Records on the Police National Computer Incorporating the Step Down Model Document Status & Version Version 1.3 Version Date 16 March 2006 Author(s) DNA & Fingerprint Retention Project Owned by ACPO Recording and Disclosure of Convictions Portfolio Published on the following websites: ACPO internet, ACPO intranet, Centrex, Centrex Genesis, Home Office This document is not protectively marked. All enquiries regarding the content of this document should be addressed to: DNA & Fingerprint Retention Project, Kings Worthy Court, Court Road, Kings Worthy Winchester, Hampshire SO23 7QA Telephone: 023 80744637 Email: [email protected] Acknowledgements ACPO and members of the project team would like to express their thanks to all of those involved in the drafting of this document and to members of the DNA & Fingerprint Retention Project Board who have given their support and advice throughout the development of these Guidelines. In addition ACPO would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution made by the Office of the Information Commissioner. Thanks are also due to the following forces for facilitating focus group discussions: Dyfed-Powys Police, Essex Police, Greater Manchester Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Humberside Police, Kent Police, Lancashire Constabulary, Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police and West Yorkshire Police. The following agencies were consulted and invited to comment during the development of the Retention Guidelines: Criminal Case Review Commission, Justice, National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, National Centre for Policing Excellence, Criminal Bar Association, Liberty, The Law Society, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, Crime and Society Foundation, Criminal Records Bureau and the Crown Prosecution Service .0 Introduction 1.1 The Retention Guidelines will replace the existing ‘ACPO General Rules for Criminal Record Weeding on Police Systems’ on the 31 March 2006. 1.2 The Retention Guidelines will form part of the guidance issued under the Code for Management of Police Information. 1.3 The Retention Guidelines are based on a format of restricting access to PNC data, rather than the deletion of that data. The restriction of access is achieved by setting strict time periods after which the relevant event histories will ‘step down’ and only be open to inspection by the police. Following the ‘step down’ other users of PNC will be unaware of the existence of such records, save for those occasions where the individual is the subject of an Enhanced Check under the Criminal Records Bureau vetting process. In those cases the data should be dealt with as intelligence and only disclosed, where the relevance test has been applied, on the authority of the Chief Officer. The ‘step down’ time periods are based on the following criteria, as set out in detail in the chart at Appendix 1; • The age of the subject • The final outcome • The sentence imposed • The offence category 1.4 All non conviction events, for example acquittals and arrests, will be ‘stepped down’ when the relevant entry is made on the PNC. This will ensure that such data is only open to inspection by the police. 1.5 It is recognised that the introduction of these guidelines may have implications for the business of the non police agencies with which the police currently share PNC data. Work is already under way to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the needs of all stake holders. 1.6 Applications from non police agencies to access nominal records on the PNC will be considered by a Panel chaired by the ACPO lead for Recording and Disclosure of Convictions. .0 Background 2.1 The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 amended PACE, and removed the requirement to destroy DNA samples and fingerprints, relating to persons following acquittal at court or other discontinuance of a case. 2.2 This Act also introduced the use of ‘On the Spot Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour’. This is an extension of the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices for traffic offences, to cover offences relating to Drunkenness, and others such as Throwing Fireworks, and Throwing Stones at Trains. 2.3 More recently this scheme has been widened to include offences of shoplifting and criminal damage where the values involved are less than specified amounts 1. The Government has indicated that the scheme may be extended to include other offences, some of which will be recordable offences. 2.4 Where a recordable offence is dealt with by way of a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND), that event can be recorded on PNC but will not be regarded as a criminal conviction. 2.5 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 amended PACE providing the police with the additional power to take DNA samples and fingerprints without consent, from all persons detained at a police station having been arrested for a recordable offence. Where such an arrest results in no further action being taken, the individual is referred to as a ‘CJ Arrestee’. 2.6 Persons subject to the legislation set out above, will have a record retained on PNC. Those records will be held alongside those relating to persons with criminal convictions. 2.7 The PNC record containing the associated demographic information enables a link to be made to DNA and fingerprints. This in turn provides the potential for a match between a crime scene and an individual. 2.8 Given these changes, the Nominal records will now contain ‘Event Histories’ to reflect the fact that the subject may have been Convicted (including cautions, reprimands and warnings), dealt with by the issue of a Penalty Notice for Disorder, Acquitted, or dealt with as a ‘CJ Arrestee’. 1 T he specified amounts are currently £200 in respect of shoplifting and £500 in respect of criminal damage. However in response to concerns regarding those figures, in practise the police have set £100 for shoplifting, and £200 for criminal damage. .0 Principles 3.1 When a nominal record is created or updated on the PNC by virtue of an individual being the subject of a Conviction, Penalty Notice for Disorder, Acquittal or CJ Arrestee, the record will contain relevant personal data together with details of the offence which resulted in the record creation. The record will be retained on PNC until that person is deemed to have attained 100 years of age. Where a subject is shown to have more than one date of birth, the earliest date will be used to determine when 100 years of age has been attained. 3.2 The step model is designed to provide the police service with continuing access to data that will allow it to discharge its statutory, and common law responsibilities. 3.3 The concept of the step model is simply to restrict access to certain data fields by non-police users of the PNC, after set periods of time, whilst allowing the police continued access in support of policing purposes. 3.4 A clear distinction is now made between the retention of data for policing purposes, and the use that other users or recipients may make of that data. 3.5 The recordable offences on PNC have been separated into three categories; ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’. These categories have been based on the seriousness of the offence with those listed at ‘A’ being the more serious and those listed at ‘C’ the less serious. Detailed offence categories are available at Appendix 3; 3.6 The Guidelines make reference to ‘clear periods’ in determining the time at which the offence history steps down. Should the subject re-offend within the ‘clear period’, then the time clock is reset from that time, and a further ‘clear period’ begins. By adopting this approach, recidivist records will remain visible to all users of the PNC. Those who cease to be convicted of criminal activity will have that fact recognised by restricting access to the data, via the ‘step down model’. 3.7 Where a nominal record contains more than one category of disposal history, the guideline relating to the longest retention period will prevail. All histories on the nominal record will be retained in accordance with the longest retention period. For example, if an adult receives a caution for an offence which would normally step down after a 5 year clear period, but is then convicted of an offence with a 20 year clear period, both histories will be retained until the expiry of the 20 year clear period. 3.8 Where the outcome of a court case is subject to an Appeal, the nominal record will be updated to reflect the outcome of the Appeal, and the relevant ‘step down’ criteria will be applied to determine the status of the history. For example in the case of an adult person convicted of a category ‘B’ offence and sent to prison for 2 years, the conviction history would step down after 35 years. If on Appeal the sentence was reduced to 3 months, the nominal record would be updated and the conviction history would step down after 20 years. If the conviction was quashed the history would be ‘stepped down’ immediately. .0 Guidelines (Should be read in conjunction with the ‘Step Down’ Chart, Appendix 1) 4.1 In the case of an adult, who, on conviction at court, receives a custodial sentence, of 6 months or more, in respect of an offence listed in category ‘A’, the conviction history will never ‘step down’. 4.2 In the case of an adult, who, on conviction at court, receives a custodial sentence, of 6 months or more, in respect of an offence listed in category ‘B’, the conviction history will ‘step down’ after a clear period of 35 years, and thereafter only be open to inspection by the police.